Clothing sales are primarily made by displaying the garments on open racks such that customers may put on the clothing to determine proper fit and may view themselves in the clothing to determine the appropriate aesthetic appeal. However, nicer items such as suits and coats or other outerwear garments have a relatively high value, and concern for security is important. Accordingly, efforts have been made to reduce the likelihood of theft or other unauthorized removal of the garments from the store.
Security devices for garments are, of course, not new per se. A number of systems have been proposed which allow the potential customer to inspect the items in a display rack or fixture without setting off an alarm and at the same time preventing the removal of the item from the immediate vicinity of the display. A typical system involves the step of threading a single steel cable through all the garments on a particular rack, such that the ends of the cable are secured by a locking mechanism to the rack. This system has an obvious drawback in that garments are not capable of being put on by the customer nor are they capable of being purchased until such cable is removed. That is not convenient, even if the desired garment is close to the end of the cable. Particularly with jackets and coats, such a removal and reinsertion process for the steel cable is both time consuming and not conductive to what are called impulse sales.
Attaching an individual cable to each garment is a known way to resolve the difficulties of collective security attachment. It is desirable that a customer be able to select a number of garments from a rack of clothing, try on the several garments, and reach the point of decision to purchase a particular item. One system which has been found to be effective for both security and display of clothing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,827. This system includes a housing in which a plurality of cables are employed, with each cable being attached at one end to the garment and at the other end to the housing. The attachment to the housing is detachable, such that any one or more individual cables can be removed or attached to the housing without disturbing the other cable attachments.
One method of attaching the cable to the garment is shown in this patent, where a cable is passed through an opening such as a buttonhole in the garment, where the cable has an enlarged plastic button at one end to prevent that end from passing through the opening. The other end of the cable is then attached to the security monitoring housing. The problem with this system, which has been effective up to a point, is that the security housing is attached to a stanchion of the supporting rack by suitable bolts or screw-type fasteners, thereby exposing the security system to direct tapering. Also, the cable shown in this patent is not secure against cutting, and would not send an alarm if cut and removed from the garment.
Another system of garment security and protection is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,182. In this system, an alarm mechanism is employed for signaling a closed circuit condition, such as when the cable which mechanically connects the retail item to the security device is cut. This system has been found to be effective in securing garments which have been displayed on a rack or other store fixture by attaching to the garment as in the prior patent discussed above and to the housing by plugging the other end of the cable into a jack or other electrically connecting fixture.
In this system, the cable is also sensitive to being cut and will sound an alarm via the disclosed electronic circuitry when, for example, a pair of conductive elements are contained in the cable and complete a circuit when joined together by actions such as cutting of the cable. The system is very effective in some situations, but concern for having exposed ports for attachment of the cable still exists. It is possible for clever shoplifters to tamper with the cable ports, such as by inserting of an element into the port to keep the system in steady state even when the cable is cut. Since the system operates on battery, and since it is in a normally open circuit condition, to preserve battery power, jamming an object into the port might be possible, whereby the circuit would not be completed upon removal of the jack from the port.
None of the prior art systems provide for complete security, particularly for the attachment of the cable to the security housing. This has been found to be the point where the security system is most likely to fail, either from inattentive or careless use by the sales personnel. For example, if the jack is not properly inserted into the plug when the garment is placed in the system, it may be removed without alarming the system because it has not been placed fully into the system. Alternatively, failure to lock the unit because of neglect or because the sales person is trying to show several customers several garments at the same time will permit unauthorized removal of additional garments by someone in the midst of the confusion and focused attention on others. It is of prime importance that the connection to the alarm box or security monitoring/alarm sending unit not be disturbed every time that a customer wishes to try on a garment. It is also important that the overall security not be disturbed each time one garment is removed from the system, such as when one garment has been sold.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a security system for garments such as jackets and coats and the like which allows for access to each individual item on the display rack or fixture.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system in which individual cables are attached to garments at one end and is secured to the security system at the other end of the cable in such a manner as to prevent access to the junction of the cable and the system.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system in which the cable and security housing connection is not capable of being disabled by preventing access to the connection in a normal operating condition.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a backup safety connection between the electronics of the security housing and the cable so that inadvertent or intentional disabling of the first connection will not prevent the second connection from serving as a security monitor and alarm system.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.